reviewLove cannot be forced. That sounds obvious, but maybe we are more guilty of it than we dare to admit. The intimate relationship drama PassagesThursday in the cinema, is a film that dares to ask difficult questions about romance, sex and opportunism.
As film director Tomas during a so-called wrap party (to celebrate that the recordings are over) commits a slip-up, he almost immediately confesses to his husband Martin. He is hardly afraid of that. In this marriage, sex with another person need not affect deeper feelings of love.
But this lovemaking has an edge: Tomas dived into the suitcase with a woman. And that tasted like more. In fact, he thinks he’s in love. That certainly applies to the Frenchwoman Agathe – the director is German, his husband British and everything takes place in contemporary Paris – who is more than happy to introduce her new flame to her parents. Especially if she turns out to be pregnant. But how sincere is Tomas himself who refuses to end his marriage and, much to Martin’s chagrin, keeps asking for attention and even expresses jealousy when he also finds a new partner? How long can he keep both irons in the fire? That can’t possibly end well.
We see triangular relationships more often in films, but the characters of Passages are more complex than you find them in an average Hollywood movie. Perhaps a bit too complex. To sympathize with them stands or falls with understanding (or at least wanting to understand) why they do what they do. It remains somewhat unclear what exactly Agathe sees in Tomas. It is especially good for the script that she falls for this troubled man.
Unpolished sex scenes
What is interesting is that we are quick to dismiss people like Tomas as a narcissist, while he may secretly be more like us than we dare to admit. His ego needs constant stroking. That doesn’t sound pretty, but it’s also something human. And where most swallow such needs, Tomas actually acts on them. Also fascinating is how sexual orientation hardly plays a significant role in this.
The fact that it all works is due to the honest, intimate acting of the entire cast. Frans Rogowski’s Tomas is as insufferable as it is charming, Ben Wishaw (Q from the last James Bondfilms) is beautifully fragile as the man who continues to succumb to his husband’s manipulative behavior for a long time and also Adèle Exarchopoulos (from the Palme d’Or winning classic La Vie d’Adele) makes the most of her somewhat flatly written role. The unpolished sex scenes add to the raw realistic atmosphere. Passages is an uncomfortable seat, but lingers for a long time.
Directed by: Ira Sachs. Starring: Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Erwan Kepoa Falé
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